SES Solar One, LLC, planned to develop, design, construct, own, operate and maintain a new, approximately 663.5 megawatt capacity solar generating facility, utilizing Stirling closed-cycle engines powered by concentrated solar power. Power output from this facility was to be sold in accordance with a power purchase agreement to Southern California Edison. The location is well suited given the yearly high availability of solar energy, level topography, site access, and minimum impact on visual and environmental resources.
The SES Calico Solar Application for Certification (AFC) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared by AECOM was submitted to the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), whose approval was required to construct and operate the solar generating facility within San Bernardino County. Both documents were approved in record time. Known as Solar 1, the project included the construction of a new 65-mile transmission line. The AFC and EIS presented a discussion of the project’s potential environmental impacts, along with measures to mitigate or avoid adverse impacts. The documents were based upon an unprecedented Memorandum of Understanding with both the CEC and the BLM, that AECOM co-wrote. Several hundred subsequent project permits were also approved. In addition, AECOM performed limited owner’s engineering services, including, but not limited to, hydrogeology and water well development, surface water engineering, and geotechnical engineering.